1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chemical dispensation devices and, more specifically, to a device for selectively dispensing ones of a variety of liquid-based, foam, and/or gel-type chemical compositions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In typical households, residences, and other domestic dwellings, as well as within commercial and business buildings, many chemical cleaning agents are used in performing numerous common home cleaning, freshening, or other maintenance tasks. In a given area within a household, for example, within a single room, more than one cleaning agent can be used during a single cleaning session.
Accordingly, users of chemical cleaning agents occasionally must tote or carry around multiple containers of different chemical cleaning agents. In the alternative to transporting multiple chemical cleaning agents, the user is required to make multiple trips between the pieces being cleaned and, for example, the area where the cleaning agents are stored to exchange previously used agents for those which will be used subsequently.
While some cleaning tasks are performed at or near the location where chemical cleaning agents are stored, the user is still required to handle numerous individual products. As one example, many individuals keep or store various cleaning supplies within bathrooms, and bathroom cleaning typically requires the use of numerous chemical cleaning agents. Although such cleaning supplies might be stored within the bathroom, the user is still required to handle, use, manipulate, and switch between the various individual products.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a dispensing device that can selectively dispense more than one cleaning agent, enabling a user to employ a single device for dispensing and using a variety of cleaning agents. Previous attempts to solve this problem include devices that allow for multiple end-use products to be dispensed through a single valve. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,298,611 and 4,595,127 disclose variations of an aerosol can delivery system that selectively allows one of multiple fluids to be dispensed through a single spray nozzle. Disadvantages of this technology are that multiple end-use products are dispensed through a single nozzle and there is potential for cross-contamination as the user switches between products. Also, including multiple products in a single container will either increase the size and weight of the dispensing container with each end-use product included or the volume of each product will be reduced, resulting in more frequent refills or replacements of the dispensing container.
Therefore, it is also desirable to provide a dispensing device which includes multiple, replaceable, concentrated cleaning chemistries for use with a single diluent dispenser. Other attempts have focused on providing a single replaceable, concentrated chemistry for use with a single solvent. For example, it is known to allow for a bottle to be refilled multiple times by providing cartridges containing a concentrated agent. The concentrated agent is delivered by one of several means into the bottle wherein it is combined with a solvent, preferably water, to create the usable product. While these references allow for multiple combinations of cartridges and solutions, concentrated or not, to be used in refilling the bottle, the primary disadvantage with this system is that the concentrate and the solution are entirely combined prior to use within the bottle. This allows the bottle to be used to dispense only a single solution at any particular time. Further, the entire contents of the bottle must be dispensed or disposed of prior to using a different chemistry within the bottle.
Attempts at providing replaceable cartridges demonstrated numerous obstacles to implementing such technology on a large scale. It has proven difficult to provide adequate sealing configurations between concentrate cartridges and devices, while maintaining reasonable production costs.
It has also proven difficult to properly vent and control flow of concentrated chemistries from containers, while maintaining reasonable production costs and product size and weight, since multiple check valves and vents are often required per container. Each of the multiple check valves and vents adds an additional component to the overall device, a procedural step for its installation while manufacturing, cost of such components, and weight to the device.
Yet other difficulties arise from trying to establish a desired mix ratio of diluent to concentrate in a manually pumped or actuated spraying device. That is because in manually pumped devices, relatively small total volumes of dispensed fluid are released per pump or actuation event. Intuitively, as a total volume of dispensed fluid decreases, so also do the volumes of its concentrate and diluent constituents. Accordingly, fluid mixtures that have a low per/volume percentage of concentrate may require only a minute amount of the concentrate to arrive at the desired per/volume percentage during dispensation. Manufacturing dispensing devices that can suitably draw minute amounts of concentrate and mix it with small volumes of diluent is difficult to do while maintaining reasonable production costs. This is especially the case in venturi-based mixing systems, noting that even slight modifications in venturi configuration(s) can dramatically influence flow characteristics of fluids traveling therethrough.
Yet another problem resulting from venture-based mixing systems which are powered by a manually pumped or actuated spraying device is that each pump or actuation event includes (i) a pressure buildup phase, (ii) a maximum pressure phase, and (iii) a pressure decrease phase. Portions of the pressure buildup and decrease phases can at times be insufficient to suitably propel contents from a discharge nozzle, whereby the contents may drip out of the nozzle and run down the device. Such occurrences are commonly referred to as “drooling” and can leave a sticky or otherwise undesirable residue on the device.
There are no known readily manufacturable or commercially available prior art dispensers that allow multiple, replaceable, concentrated cleaning chemistries to be selectively used with a single diluent dispenser. What is therefore needed is a chemical or end product dispensing device which dispenses multiple cleaning agents from separate output nozzles to mitigate the likelihood of cross-contaminating the various chemistries and reduce the dependency on multiple dispensing devices for dispensing multiple end use products.